Vehicle Damaged by a Drug Sniffing Dog at a Checkpoint

Whether or not you agree with the case law, the federal courts have found that a dog sniff of the perimeter of your car is not a "search". Whether or not it was reasonable under the circumstances for you to be detained for the purpose of having a dog sniff your vehicle is not something that we can analyze without a lot more information about the events and the basis that the officers might offer for the detention.

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Quoting Rock Knocker

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Basic physics proclaims that the finish of your car is harder than a dogs nails.

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What rubbish are you talking about? Live in the real world. I see aggressive alerting dogs damage car paint all the time. I had a hood on my work vehicle that had two perfect paw marks clawed into the paint. Take your science out in the real world and get some experience in things, such as this.

To the OP. File the administrative claim and ask them to reimburse you for the repair cost. (Ps, be less standoffish at those checkpoints. You are only asking for extra, paint damaging attention by refusing). You do have to understand that US citizens can be used to smuggle large quantities of drugs from the border.

FYI, my dad was a green card holder for almost 50 years, and I assure you that he had a drivers license. He was here legally, but he was not a US citizen. Stating "I'm a US citizen" and providing a drivers license is in no way proof that you actually are.

Not to mention that it's not even proof that one is here LEGALLY ... at least not in CA.

Yes a dog can scratch a vehicles clear-coat. I've seen a dog scratch deeply into the clear-coat, but never down into the paint itself. I'm not saying they can't get to the paint, but it would be tough.

Chances are that only the top layer of the clear-coat is scratched. A simple compound and wax should do the trick of restoring the finish to its original state.

Try the compound and wax and if that don't do the trick, follow through with the info that flyingron has provided.